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At a time when many young farmers are locked out of the business by speculative real estate values, Bodnar, his wife Paige Dampier and their three children, are living on an organic farm and running a successful enterprise, Close to Home Organics.

Glen Valley Organic Farm is a pastoral postcard conjured right out of our collective memory of farming, with rows of carrots and potatoes, tractors, greenhouses and goats. The difference is that Chris and Paige are renters, not owners.

As recently as 25 years ago, the proportion of owner-operator farmers to renters was around 65 to 35, according to Statistics Canada. Today, it’s closer to 50-50, as more young farmers are forced to make do with whatever parcels of land they can find.

In Bodnar’s case, the land is owned by a cooperative of concerned citizens that purchased the farm with the expressed intention of keeping it in production. Glen Valley’s tenant farmers are required to buy a $5,000 share in the cooperative.

Bodnar was able to purchase the existing farm business and all its assets — except the land — for only $60,000.

“Eight years ago I wasn’t a farmer, but it fit with what I wanted for a career and how we wanted to raise a family,” said Bodnar. “The farmer who had been working this land wanted to retire and he wanted to mentor the people who took over his business and pass along his knowledge. We were very fortunate.

The high cost of suitable land and lack of capital for investment are the two most common obstacles faced by young farmers, according to a report by Hannah Wittman, a professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems a the University of British Columbia.

Would-be farmers who do not come from farming families face serious financial obstacles, said Wittman.

“We have some properties in our database — just two to three acres in Richmond in the Agricultural Land Reserve — going for $3 million, so it’s priced for residential use,” said Wittman. “If you don’t inherit land, you face a real barrier.”

She has identified 60 farms in B.C. that use an alternative business model, such as these:

Farm incubators

Municipalities and universities are setting aside land to help first-time farmers get started. Kwantlen Polytechnic University allows students of the Richmond Farm School to lease incubator farmland for up to three years after graduation so they can gain experience and start an agricultural enterprise.

Yard farming

A few dozen entrepreneurs are farming several hundred front and back yards in residential neighbourhoods in the City of Vancouver, providing the owners a share of the produce in lieu of rent. By securing clusters of lots in proximity, the farmers are able to service all their locations and deliver fresh produce to subscribers who pre-purchase weekly veggie boxes for the entire growing season.

Farmland trusts

Community and conservancy groups raise funds to purchase environmentally important, historic and imperilled farms and then rent the land to young farmers, who can secure long-term leases that allow them to invest in equipment, structures and irrigation. The Land Conservancy holds several ranches and farms around B.C. and Vancouver Island.

Cooperative farming

A group of young farmers may be able to pull together enough capital to buy or lease a farm they can share, which works well when the businesses complement each other. Wittman notes one example in which an apiary, a herb business, market vegetable farming, egg farming and goat farming all coexist on one piece of land.

Land linking

By pairing new farmers with retiring farmers, farms are able to pass to the next generation even where no family bond exists. Retiring farmers can mentor young farmers to ensure the business remains viable and then transfer ownership through innovative or cooperative financing arrangements.

Tax avoidance

Depending on the location and the value of the land, an owner can save thousands of dollars on property tax if farm land remains productive enough to qualify for farm tax status. Even land in the Agricultural land reserve may be taxed at residential rates if it lies fallow. The Sanatan Dharm Cultural Society is leasing the Burnaby site of its future temple to young farmers until the group is ready to build.

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Young B.C. farmers find creative solutions to high land values

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